Simple repairs keep clothes out of landfills and save money. A missing button, a drooping hem or a tiny hole at the elbow is often all that stands between a garment and the donation bag, or worse, the trash. Yet those problems usually take ten minutes or less to fix with a needle, some thread and a little patience. Our grandparents knew this by heart. Somewhere along the way, many of us forgot. The good news is that basic mending is easy to learn, deeply satisfying and one of the most practical things you can do for a wardrobe you love.
This guide walks through six beginner repairs, the supplies you need to start and the moments when it makes more sense to hand the job to a professional. You do not need a sewing machine, and you do not need to be crafty. You just need to be willing to try.
The basics
Sewing a button, fixing a fallen hem and patching a small hole need only a needle and thread. Before you start, put together a simple mending kit. It can live in a small tin or a zippered pouch and will cover nearly every repair in this article.
- A pack of hand-sewing needles in assorted sizes
- All-purpose thread in black, white, navy, gray and beige
- Small, sharp scissors
- Straight pins and a pincushion
- A thimble, if you like one
- A seam ripper for removing old stitches
- A few spare buttons and some iron-on patches
- A measuring tape and a fabric marking pencil
Most of these supplies cost only a few dollars at a craft or fabric store. Keep the kit somewhere easy to reach, so a loose button gets fixed tonight instead of sitting on the dresser for six months.
Six repairs to learn
Here are the repairs our editors use most often, from the simplest to the slightly more involved.
1. Sew a button
Thread your needle and knot the ends together so the thread is doubled. Position the button where the old one was; you can usually see the old holes in the fabric. Push the needle up from the back through one hole, then down through the opposite hole. Repeat five or six times. Before the last few stitches, slip a toothpick between the button and the fabric so the button sits slightly loose. Remove the toothpick, wrap the thread a few times around the stitches beneath the button to create a small shank, then push the needle to the back and knot it securely.
2. Fix a hem
Turn the garment inside out and pin the hem back into place. Use a small slip stitch or blind stitch, catching just one or two threads of the outer fabric with each stitch so it is nearly invisible from the outside. Work in small, even stitches about a quarter inch apart. Press the hem with an iron when you are done.
3. Patch a hole
For a small hole in a woven fabric, an iron-on patch on the inside is the fastest fix. For a knit, a few careful stitches pulling the edges together often work best. Visible patches are also very much in style. A contrasting piece of fabric stitched over a worn knee or elbow can look intentional and charming.
4. Replace a drawstring
Attach a safety pin to one end of the new drawstring. Push the pin into the channel opening and work it through, scrunching the fabric along as you go. Once it comes out the other side, remove the pin and knot the ends so the string cannot slip back in.
5. Close a split seam
Turn the garment inside out and pin the seam. Use a backstitch, which is strong and closely resembles machine stitching, to sew along the original seam line, overlapping the old stitches by about half an inch on each end.
6. Darn a sock or sweater
For a small hole in a knit, weave thread or yarn in rows across the hole, then weave back the other way to create a tiny woven patch. A darning egg or even a lightbulb-shaped object helps keep the fabric taut.
A good tailor turns a $20 find into a $200 look.
Tailor
Know a tailor
Hemming and taking in seams are affordable ways to make clothes fit perfectly. Some repairs are best left to a professional, and knowing a good tailor is one of the most valuable style secrets there is. A tailor can shorten sleeves, adjust waistbands, replace zippers, reline coats and reshape a garment that is almost right into one that fits as if it were made for you.
Prices vary by city and complexity, but many common jobs, such as hemming pants or taking in a waist, are surprisingly affordable compared with the cost of replacing the garment. Ask friends for recommendations, or look for a dry cleaner that offers alterations. Start with a simple job to see the quality of the work before trusting a tailor with a favorite coat.
Bring the shoes you plan to wear when getting trousers or skirts hemmed. It makes a real difference to where the hem should fall.
Building the habit
The hardest part of mending is not the stitching. It is remembering to do it. A few habits help repairs actually happen.
Keep a small mending basket in a visible spot. When something needs fixing, it goes straight into the basket instead of back in the closet. Once a month, put on a podcast or a favorite movie and work through the pile. Many people find it relaxing, a quiet, screen-light hour that ends with a stack of clothes ready to wear again.
Check new and secondhand clothes for loose buttons and weak seams before you wear them. Adding a few extra stitches on day one prevents a lost button on day thirty. And save the spare buttons that come with new garments in a labeled jar, so you always have a match.
Key takeaway: a ten-minute repair can add years to a garment’s life, and a good tailor can make it fit better than the day you bought it.
Why mending matters
Every garment that stays in use is one less garment that needs to be replaced. Mending saves money, of course, but it also changes how you feel about your clothes. A sweater you have darned or a coat you have had relined becomes more personal. It carries a small story. You are more likely to care for it, and less likely to replace it on a whim.
Many communities also host free repair cafes or mending circles at libraries and community centers, where volunteers help with clothing, small appliances and more. They are a great way to learn new skills and meet neighbors who share the same habit.
Start with one button
If all of this feels like a lot, start small. Find the shirt that has been missing a button since spring. Thread a needle, follow the steps above and sew it back on. That single repair will probably take less time than reading this article. Then, the next time a hem falls or a seam splits, you will know you can handle it, and your favorite clothes will be with you for many more seasons.
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Saved this one for later. Really useful.